LMC Tailgate Review / Completed!

[4x4blaze]

Hey guys, I was wondering who makes the highest quality reproduction tailgate from some of your experiences you may have had with them? My tailgate has always had rust on the bottom and has always been a little bent.. But literally just two hours ago I had a strap break and fly back and put a HUGE dent in my tailgate.... (was a rookie mistake, won't happen again) But anyways, my Blazer is my baby, but I'm really not too bummed that it had happened since this tailgate was shot and I was planning on getting a new one anyways. & BTW, I am not really interested in finding a used tailgate off of a parts truck. would like a brand new reproduction.

Anyways, thanks in advance!

Shane

 

[4x4blaze]

UPDATE: Decided to go with the LMC tailgate.. About the only company I could find who sells one... It was $200 so hopefully it's of good quality and not made of tin. I'll update this thread once I get it and review it.

 

[wazzabie]

UPDATE: Decided to go with the LMC tailgate.. About the only company I could find who sells one... It was $200 so hopefully it's of good quality and not made of tin. I'll update this thread once I get it and review it.

great! i'm looking forward to the review and pics. i wonder how the fit and quality is

 

[4x4blaze]

great! i'm looking forward to the review and pics. i wonder how the fit and quality is

Haha, well I'm glad at least someone else is watching this thread and I'm not just talking to myself! But I figured either way it may help someone out in the future! But anyways, the package came today and surprisingly weighed 81lbs on the shipping tag! And after pulling it out of the box and looking at it, I am actually very pleased! It feels like it is made of a heavier guage steel and not terribly far off from the factory guage. The dimensions also seem to be very close if not perfect. I am going to bolt this tailgate on within the next few days just as a test fit.. Hopefully it lines up as good as I'm thinking it will.. So I will try my best to keep this thread updated. I also took a few pictures that I will post later tonight when I get more time.

 

[wazzabie]

Haha, well I'm glad at least someone else is watching this thread and I'm not just talking to myself! But I figured either way it may help someone out in the future! But anyways, the package came today and surprisingly weighed 81lbs on the shipping tag! And after pulling it out of the box and looking at it, I am actually very pleased! It feels like it is made of a heavier guage steel and not terribly far off from the factory guage. The dimensions also seem to be very close if not perfect. I am going to bolt this tailgate on within the next few days just as a test fit.. Hopefully it lines up as good as I'm thinking it will.. So I will try my best to keep this thread updated. I also took a few pictures that I will post later tonight when I get more time tonight.

is the tailgate usa made?

 

[4x4blaze]

is the tailgate usa made?

Unfortunately not.. I was going to state that, but forgot to. But best of luck finding any reproduction panel nowadays that is unfortunately. And trust me, I come from a very strong blue collar union background and will never drive a foreign car in my entire life. & I try my hardest to buy American made products by American companies.. Glad to see that I'm not the only one who cares though! & As my old man would say...... PEARL HARBOR MF'ER!

 

[4x4blaze]

Here are some pictures of the tailgate from earlier today. As stated, the quality seems good and the guage of the steel seems relatively thick! This gate is pretty heavy for being just a bare shell! My only concern is with the "guide pins" as circled in the last picture. The pins on the new tailgate seem to be a bit more bent inwards compared to factory. It may not be a big deal, and they may need to be just slightly bent out, but the test fit will answer that question. Overall, I am very pleased. (And I am a perfectionist) Going to get estimates on paint tomorrow, but planning on test fitting later this week.

 

[4x4blaze]

BTW, sorry about the huge photos I need to get a photobucket and/or learn to post them properly.

 

[dremu]

I have vague memories of having to adjust (*) those tabs even when putting in another tailgate from the junkyard. Each truck has slight variances at the quarters, right, and depending on age and rust and the frame and body mounts and such, the edges will sag a bit over the years. Kinda like me

(*) Adjustment involving a medium adjustable ("Crescent") wrench tightened almost all the way, so the tab just fits, and then carefully bend as required. I would not hammer.

-- A

 

[wazzabie]

looks like it is a good repo part

btw - nice floor pan. what is the sticker above your fuel cover?

 

[4x4blaze]

The edges will sag a bit over the years. Kinda like me

My oh my!Im only 19, but I get it..... But the crescent wrench idea worked perfect! & the body sagging over time, and each truck being just a bit different does make perfect sense.. Thanks for throwing that out there! A body man has once told me about my pops 67 Camaro that the only consistency's are there aren't any consistencies. I guess that's true with these trucks as well!

looks like it is a good repo part

btw - nice floor pan. what is the sticker above your fuel cover?

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it! Did run into an issue that I will post on here later though that is going to require a little and then ... But its not the end of the world! I figured some sort of issue would arise sooner or later. I've worked on these old trucks long enough to know that! The gate itself lines up really nicely with the back of the truck though. After it gets painted it should look great!

& Hey now, don't kid yourself about my floors. This has been a Midwest Missouri truck all of its life and it has taken its toll (A little bit at least) Right in the very back corner of the bed (very common spot) it has rusted through. But, a friend of mine does killer body work, so someday down the road she will get patched up when I repaint it! The fenders, quartes, floors throughout the rest of the truck are rock solid though. Just that one stupid spot Call me a wuss if you want to, but i try really hard to keep her out of the elements to at least slow it down.

And the decal above the fuel cover is to make you aware of the hidden bolt that is on the back corner of the cap when you go to take it off. ill post a pic of it later when I update the tailgate progress.

 

[wazzabie]

And the decal above the fuel cover is to make you aware of the hidden bolt that is on the back corner of the cap when you go to take it off. ill post a pic of it later when I update the tailgate progress.

that is interesting... is this a stock gm sticker?

 

[4x4blaze]

that is interesting... is this a stock gm sticker?

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As far as I know, yes. This was a Grandpas truck before I got it and remained pretty much unmolested throughout the years. It also has another decal above the rear view mirror that pretty much tells you the truck handles poorly.... & remember this truck has the custom deluxe trim package from 1987. No headliner, no interior panels next to the back seat, didn't even have a center console when I got it(but somehow manged to hold 4 drinks and drive one time). If this truck were a Silverado, they would have both been covered.

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[4x4blaze]

Made a photobucket and tried to attach photos, but apparently I am still doing something wrong.

Anyways, here they are:

 

[4x4blaze]

Back to the update on the tailgate! Well I finally got around to test fitting the new reproduction gate. It bolted up nicely and the lines had lined up almost perfectly.

BUT it would not close....The "tabs" on the tailgate were not even close to fitting inside of the holes in the quarters... even with them being bent outwards they were still not wide enough.. And on top of that, the driver side was too low and the passenger was too high. So you know what that means. I had decided to cut both of the tabs off and then weld them back on at the right height and move them out a bit. I held them with vice grips and got a decent tac on them (stick welded) and then tested them again... Right on the money! It closes really nicely now just how it should.

And now for the next annoying issue that I had ran into.

If you have ever noticed, there is a little tab inside of a blazer tailgate that grabs onto the cable and holds it. Well, this tailgate doesn't have those.. So whenever I would go to close it, the cables would pop out between the taillight and the tailgate. So every time I would go to close it, I would have to push them in. But honestly, this shouldn't be too difficult of a fix. I am going to use some decent gauge scrap sheet metal and try my best to replicate the original tabs GM had used and then JB weld them on before paint. Then after I get them back, they should looks very similar to factory.

Here are some pics of how the far the tabs were off





And here is how I had fixed them



& here's the tailgate on the truck after getting it to shut properly! The lines match up great thus far & I can't wait to see it when it's done!

 

[4x4blaze]

& For whatever reason I always thought black tailgates looked sort of cool. I guess it's because I grew up riding around in my dads red 86 c10 that had a black tailgate. I guess it just reminds me of his or something! And everytime I see it without a back bumper, I always think of how cool a K5 would look with a roll pan...

But anyways, getting back on topic, I drove to a few body shops around my area to get estimates on paint the other day when ck5 was down.. I got estimates that ranged from $200 - $500 just for paint and $600- $800 for a full install!
I decided to go with a highly recognized shop that would do the paint for $225 and then I would install the internals and what not myself. I don't care for it to be a flawless paint job, but I do take pride in my old blaze and want it to match at least somewhat decently. But I am planning on painting the whole thing in a few years so it's not a huge deal if it's not perfect.. Anything will look better than the huge dent and bondo in it now!

Shane

 

[wazzabie]

looks good and nice work. thanks for posting the stickers

 

[Txhansen]

I was just starting to look for options to replace my tailgate so finding this was very timely. Thanks for the feedback

 

[4x4blaze]

looks good and nice work. thanks for posting the stickers

Thanks man, I appreciate it! & Not a problem!

I was just starting to look for options to replace my tailgate so finding this was very timely. Thanks for the feedback

Oh yeah? Well I'm glad this was able to help you out! & Don't get me wrong, is this tailgate as great as an all original OEM? probably not. But I would definitely recommend this tailgate. I myself am very pleased.

 

[4x4blaze]

Well the other day I finally got around to making the "tabs" that hold the tailgate cable in place. I found some scrap stainless (way overkill) and then tried to imitate the original tabs gm had made. I then used JB weld to hold both of the on.

What I had started with:


Finished product:


Then after 24 hours had passed for the JB weld to cure, I finally dropped the tailgate off at the body shop to get sprayed. So hopefully it should be ready sometime next week. But then, not to be forgotten, I get to look forward to installing all of the internals.... Which I'm sure is going to be a blast...